September 25, 2013 - A Lake Orion "parent of the community" has recently opened her dream business in the downtown district, with the official ribbon cutting last Friday, September 20.

Michelle Kunselman is the owner of Avonlea Spa and Salon and completely redesigning the interior of what used to be Patti's Place For Hair.

Although she lives in Oxford, Kunselman's kids go to Lake Orion schools, she has been involved with many LO charities and events, including the North Oakland Community Coalition, Challenge Day and REAL Talk at the high school, and has donated to the football league and "anything or anyone that needs anything," she said.

"I love the community, and I'm pretty sure people will embrace it and start coming here," she said.

Avonlea Spa and Salon will offer many services, including the usual hair care with cuts, coloring, Keratin hair conditioning, and hair extension pieces.

"Brazilian waxing is not really huge in the community, but a lot of women apparently do look for that," Kunselman said.

She went to beauty school to become an esthetician about a year ago after managing her husband's engineering company over the years.

For hair she uses the full line of professional Bamboo hair care products, which are free from parabens, sodium chlorides, phthalates, synthetic color, mineral oil, petrolatum and PAVA.

"A lot of people don't carry what we carry, the Bamboo and the Pravana, and they're both really good lines," she said.

She started remodeling the building back in May, pulled out the floors and stripped away plaster on the walls revealing the original brick beneath it. Using earthy tones, she designed the interior to produce a warm, welcoming atmosphere for her customers.

"I decided I was going to follow my own dreams," she said. "I've always wanted to do it, and decided I like this building and so I gutted it and put my own spin on it, and it's been open for almost a month now."

Follow some of her specials and deals at her Avonlea Spa and Salon Facebook page, or call 248-693-5888 to make an appointment. They are located at 21 S. Broadway, and open Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.